Chapter 7 Flashcards
social equality
a condition in which no differences in wealth, power, prestige, or status based on nonnatural conventions exist
dialectic
a two-directional relationship, following a pattern in which an original statement or thesis is countered with an antithesis leading to a conclusion that unites the strengths of the original position and the counterarguments
equality of opportunity
the idea that everyone has an equal chance to achieve wealth, social prestige, and power because the rules of the game, so to speak, are the same for everyone
bourgeois society
a society of commerce (modern capitalist society, for example) in which the maximization of profit is the primary business incentive
equality of condition
the idea that everyone should have an equal starting point
equality of outcome
the idea that each player must end up with the same amount regardless of the fairness of the “game.”
free rider problem
the notion that when more than one person is responsible for getting something done, the incentive is for each individual to shirk responsibility and hope others will pull the extra weight
estate system
a politically based system of stratification characterized by limited social mobility
caste system
a religion-based system of stratification characterized by no social mobility
class system
an economically based hierarchical system characterized by cohesive, oppositional groups and somewhat loose social mobility
proletariat
the working class
bourgeoisie
the capitalist class
contradictory class locations
the idea that people can occupy locations in the class structure that fall between the two “pure” classes
status hierarchy system
a system of stratification based on social prestige
elite–mass dichotomy system
a system of stratification that has a governing elite, a few leaders who broadly hold power in society
Meritocracy
a society where status and mobility are based on individual attributes, ability, and achievement
socioeconomic status
an individual’s position in a stratified social order
income
money received by a person for work, from transfers (gifts, inheritances, or government assistance), or from returns on investments
wealth
a family’s or individual’s net worth (that is, total assets minus total debts)
upper class
a term for the economic elite
middle class
a term commonly used to describe those individuals with nonmanual jobs that pay significantly more than the poverty line—though this is a highly debated and expansive category, particularly in the United States, where broad swathes of the population consider themselves middle class
social mobility
the movement between different positions within a system of social stratification in any given society
structural mobility
mobility that is inevitable from changes in the economy
exchange mobility
mobility in which, if we hold fixed the changing distribution of jobs, individuals trade jobs not one-to-one but in a way that ultimately balances out
